


Forever By Your Side

by gardensgnome



Series: Assorted Stories - VGY on LJ [5]
Category: Legacy of Kain
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-01
Updated: 2007-05-01
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:30:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4125577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gardensgnome/pseuds/gardensgnome
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one would have expected a human to understand, but Vorador was the only person who could pull Janos back into reality after the mass suicides.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever By Your Side

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Emerald Embers (emeraldembers)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emeraldembers/gifts).



> Originally posted 01/05/2007

** Forever By Your Side **

All was eerily quiet after the snowstorm passed over the lone brick and timber house deep within the forest and Vorador wondered how much trouble he was going to have opening his door come morning. The soft thump of snow falling off his roof to the ground below could be heard over the crackling of the fire as the blacksmith added more wood.

The first snowstorm of the winter season, one that Vorador was well prepared for. Just that morning he’d seen off the traders that had been his guests for the previous two weeks, their wagons heavily loaded with swords and spears and miscellaneous items made in his smithy. In return his storehouse was full of grain and preserved foods that would last him the six months till their next visit. There would be little he could do for the first 3 months of that time period, or so he’d been told by Janos, warned about the harsh mountain weather when he’d been brought to the remote location. Perhaps he’d find time to finish reading the books he’d borrowed from the Ancient.

Frowning as yet another thump sounded outside his door, Vorador looked longingly at his dinner awaiting him on his table and sighed. Making his way to the door, he pulled on his coat and gloves before reaching for the shovel he kept there. If he moved the snow now then hopefully it wouldn’t be such a problem come morning. Pulling open the door, Vorador reached out to turn up the flame on the night lantern, looking around as the ground before him was illuminated brightly.

The shovel in his hand clattered to the floor, instantly forgotten.

“Janos?”

Ripping off a glove, Vorador reached out and felt the blue skin, gasping at how chilled it was.

“Janos, speak to me. Janos!”

Vorador was never more thankful than in this moment for the strength of his body, molded from years of wielding the hammers of his trade. Dragging Janos inside his home was still no easy task, black wings and white robes soaked through with snow and more. Vorador felt his heart clench in fear at the rust colored stains on the hem and sleeves of Janos’ clothing.

“We must get you out of these clothes, Janos,” Vorador told the winged creature in his arms as he finally dragged him onto the fur rug before the fire and began to pull at the clothing sticking to his skin. “You have to get warm.”

Peeling off the sodden cloth was easier said than done, Janos barely conscious and staring blankly at the fire as Vorador striped him. Tossing the wet clothing away from them, Vorador briskly rubbed at the Ancient’s arms and torso, working on bringing proper circulation back to limp limbs. Adding a few more logs to the fire, Vorador hurried into his bedchamber, returning with his thickest blankets and furs which he tossed over Janos’ shivering form. Leaving again, Vorador returned with a huge tankard of the warm spiced wine he’d been about to have with dinner.

“I’ve put water on to boil for a bath,” he told Janos as he striped off his coat and shirt and crawled under the rugs, pulling a chilled back against his chest, wrapping an arm about Janos’ waist as he held the cup to his lips. “Drink.”

Breathing a sigh of relief as the command was followed, Vorador looked at the pile of clothing on the floor not far away. What had happened? It had been a couple of months since he’d last seen his friend, Janos thanking him for the newly created Reaver blade, telling him that he would return as soon as their battle with the Hylden was over. Vorador had had little time to wonder how the fighting had gone, his stores of weapons used to trade depleted by other Ancients requiring arms for battle, leaving the blacksmith working hard to replenish them. Occasionally he’d heard distant rumbles but never more than that. Then one morning about a month ago, Vorador had awoken to a much changed skyline, nine great white pillars reaching up to the very clouds and beyond. The traders had been unable to give any information and so Vorador had waited for Janos to visit as he promised.

Now that he was here, Vorador was unsure if he wanted to know what had happened. Janos looked so tired, dark circles under his eyes and those eyes looking so dead as they stared at nothing. He was barely responding to the cup held to his lips and he just lay there against Vorador, all his limbs limp.

Drinking down the last mouthful of wine himself, Vorador carefully arranged the blankets around Janos as he went to prepare the bath, uncaring of the water sloshing on the floor as he poured buckets of steaming water into the large tub. Thankful that this time Janos was able to stand and stagger over to the tub with support, Vorador removed Janos’ loincloth and helped him into the tub, pulling a stool close and grabbing up a thick fluffy towel to work on properly drying the Ancient’s wings as the hot water did its job.

“The Reaver is a beautiful blade,” Janos whispered when Vorador was half way down the first wing.

“Thank God,” Vorador breathed, clasping a hand on a warmed blue shoulder. “You had me worried, Janos. What did you do? Fly through that snowstorm?”

“Yes,” Janos admitted after a long pause. “It screams as I cannot. I have screamed and wept until I had no voice and my eyes were dry of any tears.”

“What happened?” Vorador asked in a hushed voice, hand pausing on the black wing he tended to.

“We won…but at a great cost.”

“That’s good to hear, you winning I mean,” Vorador said, worried over how dead his friend’s voice sounded. “Means that those who didn’t make it to the end of the battle didn’t lose their lives for nothing.”

“Many of those who did survive are no more.”

“How do you mean?” Vorador asked, truly puzzled.

“We have been cursed,” Janos said, looking down at his hands. “Even now I can feel it running through my body, changing who I am.

Vorador stood up from his stool and moved around to see Janos’ face. “You still look the same, my friend,” he said, reaching out to brush some of the partially dry hair away from Janos’ eyes.

“Not for much longer though.” Janos smiled sadly and Vorador saw the first of the changes.

“Yes, this is our curse,” Janos said as he touched a pointed tooth. “We banished the Hylden, imprisoning them within another dimension thanks to the pillars and they made us into vampires, forever requiring the blood of others to survive. Bloodlust is an awful thing, Vorador, and why I haven’t come until now.”

“You are still my friend, Janos, nothing will change that,” Vorador promised.

“And as I become the monster that my curse is, what then? Will you welcome me into your home when I come drenched in the blood of a kill?”

“I do not fear you,” Vorador said, eyes not leaving Janos’.

“Such misplaced trust when I could slaughter you so easily,” Janos laughed bitterly, closing his eyes.

“Did you kill someone? Is that what the blood on your robes is?” Vorador asked, eyes flicking to where the stained robes were.

“No. It’s Damia’s. She killed herself. One of many who have taken their own lives.”

“Suicide? But why?”

“Being without the love of the one that matters most would drive anyone to commit rash actions. For us, we have been granted immortality, we will live forever…but we will do so without our God. We no longer die or are reborn, we are no longer a part of the Wheel of Fate and although we may love Him for all eternity, he has shut himself off from us. Could you live like that?” Janos asked, gaze intently fixed on Vorador. “Knowing that what you truly want is being kept from your grasp?”

“Probably not,” Vorador agreed, returning to drying Janos’ wings. _And yet I do it every day._

“You say that Damia’s death is one of many. Why is hers different? Who is she?”

“Damia was one of the pillar guardians. Nine guardians were chosen by the pillars, each linked to it and to the spell of binding that keeps the Hylden away from Nosgoth. With her death, the pillars summoned a new guardian - a human.”

“A human?” Vorador stopped drying Janos’ wings, surprised by the twist Janos’ story. “I thought the pillars would belong solely to your race since you created them.”

“We have learned that Guardians are chosen at birth, something not anticipated becoming an issue when we created the pillars. Our curse means that children are no longer born into our bloodline,” Janos said, looking sadly at his hands. “We have been looking through the prophecies and discussing what to do as the Guardians must be vampires. Our only option is to create them, to turn the new guardians when they come of age.”

“Create a vampire? Do you know how, when it was the Hylden‘s curse that made you this way?”

“We have been trying for the past two weeks to find a way to create a vampire. Our magic may be greater than the Hylden’s but there is a missing element. We believe that their immense hatred for our kind is what made their curse work so well. There is no one that has that strong a bond that we can test.”

“We do.”

“What?” Janos asked, his turn to be surprised.

“It’s not hatred but it is a strong emotional attachment,” Vorador said, telling himself that the heat of the water rising from the bath was what made his face feel warm. “You asked me if I could live without what I love the most…there’s your answer.”

“Vorador no,” Janos whispered, somewhat shocked. “If it doesn’t work then you could die.”

“Better than living and knowing that your fear of killing me is what keeps you away,” Vorador countered, jaw set in a stubborn jut, eyes so very serious that it made Janos shiver even though he was surrounded by heat.

“Fool,” Janos said fondly, hand reaching out to touch Vorador’s face. “We would never had met if not for your creation of the Reaver blade for us. How can you say such things when we have known each other for only a short time?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Vorador said, reciprocating the touch. “Besides, if it does work, I’ll have an eternity to get to know you better.”

“And yet you might die…”

“Stop thinking about what might happen,” Vorador said, standing up quickly. “I am the best choice and you know it. We do this now, before you’ve had too much time to talk yourself out of it.”

Helping Janos to stand and step from the water, Vorador handed him a towel to dry with while he emptied the tub. Dinner forgotten and probably cold by now, Vorador led Janos back to the fire and the bedding there. He wasn’t sure exactly what was involved in creating a vampire but that no longer mattered. He would be with Janos and that thought made him ready to face whatever may come.

  


* * *


End file.
